Doctor shows big heart, performs lung transplant in TN despite getting hurt in Pune accident
Pune (PTI): A cardiothoracic surgeon suffered injuries in an accident while travelling with a medical team in an airport-bound ambulance carrying harvested lungs from a hospital near Pune for transplant on a patient in Chennai, but chose to ignore his own pain and performed the lifesaving surgical procedure hours later, showing an exemplary commitment to his duty.
Dr Sanjeev Jadhav said he suffered injuries in the accident on Monday evening, but went ahead with his scheduled programme and performed the lung transplant surgery on the 26-year-old patient in the Tamil Nadu capital with the help of his medical team.
The ambulance carrying harvested lungs from a hospital near Pune city along with Dr Jadhav met with the accident in Pimpri-Chinchwad township while it was on its way to the Lohegaon airport here.
Dr Jadhav, the chief cardiothoracic surgeon at Apollo Hospitals in Navi Mumbai, said after the road crash, caused due to a suspected tyre burst on the Harris Bridge, he did not waste time and quickly got into another vehicle that was trailing the ambulance.
They reached the airport with the harvested lifesaving organ and boarded a chartered plane waiting to fly to Chennai, he said.
The lungs of a 19-year-old man, who had committed suicide, were retrieved at D Y Patil Hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Monday. The critical organ was slated to be transported to Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals, where a patient was scheduled to undergo the lung transplant procedure.
The viability of the retrieved organ is generally six hours and within that period, its transplant must take place, so it was paramount to transport the lungs to Chennai for transplant on the patient, Dr Jadhav explained.
"After harvesting the lungs, we left D Y Patil Hospital for the Pune airport, where a chartered plane was waiting to go to Chennai. While we were on the way, our ambulance met with an accident around 5 pm on Monday, possibly due to a tyre burst," he said.
"The impact of the accident was very high as the front part of the ambulance got badly mangled after it hit a bridge railing and the oxygen cylinder got flung outside," he said.
Dr Jadhav said he suffered injuries on his head, hands and knee, while other members of his team were also hurt.
"We first rushed the driver to D Y Patil Hospital as he was also injured and engaged another vehicle of the hospital which was trailing us and reached the airport by 6 pm as transporting the organ in stipulated time was important," he recalled.
Due to quick action and commitment shown by the cardiothoracic surgeon and his team of doctors, the transplant surgery was completed successfully.
"When we reached Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, the patient was already on the operating table. By late evening, the lung transplant surgery was performed successfully. We are happy that the patient got a new lease of life due to the lung transplant," said Dr Jadhav with a sense of satisfaction.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
